Wainwright dodges serious injury in win

The Cardinal ace threw seven innings on just 79 pitches, striking out three and allowing four hits. It was a necessary performance, as the St. Louis offense left nine on during his start, scoring only two runs behind him. For the game the Cardinals loaded the bases twice but went 3-for-9 with RISP.

Following his success with the cutter in Washington, Wainwright leaned even more heavily on the pitch. 26 of his offerings were cutters, the highest count of any pitch in his repertoire.

“He was terrific. He’s just pitching kind of like I’ve never seen, with a different feel for every pitch,” Mike Matheny told reporters in New York. “It’s been fun to watch him.”

His curveball still lead the way in outs, getting nine of the 21 he was responsible for. The count could bump to 10, as it was a curve that resulted in a strike out/caught stealing in the second.

He was ahead of 14 batters with an early strike, something he has done consistently all year. Coming into Tuesday’s start, Wainwright had been ahead of 68 percent of all batters with a strike, nearly 10 percent better than the MLB average.

There was a scary moment in the seventh inning when Wainwright went for grounder and seemed to come up limping. He would be pulled from the game, but Matheny said the injury did not appear serious.

“Looks like he kind of hyperextended the knee,” he told reporters. “He measured out really well in the training room, strength looked good, mobility, there didn’t seem to be any signs of a ligament injury.” The injury didn’t seem to worry the Cardinal manager, and reporters in New York said Wainwright plans to make his next start.